The harbor and channel at Aitutaki are currently undergoing changes.

Channel Depth: There is a dredge currently dredging the channel. We spoke to the dredge operator over the radio and inquired about the channel depth. The operator assured us the depth was 4-5 meters all the way into the harbor. Although we had no difficulty carrying our 6.5′ (2m) draft through the channel into town, our sonar gave a least depth of 5.9′ or 1.8 meters. The boat did not act as if it had contacted the bottom so we suspect the bottom is very soft and that we pushed through a shallow spot that had silted up. Unclear how deep the channel really is, but we had no difficulty. We should note we had approximately 1 foot of tide in our favor at the time.

Channel Markers:
There is a green flashing light at the entrance to the channel that is not shown on the chart.
While reports indicate the channel is marked with stakes on one side, that no longer seems to be the case. We encountered stakes in gated pairs showing both sides of the channel all the way into the harbor. Yeah!

Anchoring inside the Reef:
The anchorage shown on the charts does not seem to be available anymore.

The Harbor:
There are two new jetties or wharfs which are not shown on any charts. One extends out from the inner harbor along the north (port hand when entering) side of the channel. The dredge was working on both deepening the channel and building this jetty. There is also a new wharf that wraps around the southern part of the harbor. This wharf cuts through or abuts the anchorage shown on the chart.

Where to Anchor:
We are anchored, along with another boat, inside the harbor. We are both anchored in 10′-12′ of water with our sterns close to the new southern wharf. There is no place to secure our sterns to the wharf, but if there were a few more boats we might all need to set anchors or stakes on the wharf to keep sterns from swinging.

Plans:
We are told the plan is for a new yacht basin north of the north jetty, which is under construction. When that basin is complete yachts will be expected to use that basin and will no longer be allowed into the basin where we are currently anchored. It will be a while until the planned yacht basin is complete, though…